Ramallah/Tel Aviv, May 16 (IANS/DPA): Three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, the Health Ministry in Ramallah said on Thursday.

The three men, aged 22 to 27, were killed during an Israeli raid shortly after midnight, according to the ministry.

According to Palestinian media reports, Israeli soldiers raided currency exchange offices in Tulkarem and other cities in the West Bank.

The exact circumstances of the raid were initially unclear.

An Israeli army spokesman said that the reports were being investigated.

The security situation in the occupied West Bank has deteriorated even further since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas attacks on October 7.

According to the Health Ministry in the West Bank, at least 479 Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli military operations, confrontations or in attacks of their own. At the same time, violence by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians has increased.